Wednesday, June 21, 2017

FK Partizan All-Time Team

This
is my selection of a 25 member all-time team for the club. The number
25 was chosen because it is the official squad size for the Champions'
League.

Partizan was founded by young high officers of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) in 1945 in Belgrade, as part of the Yugoslav Sports Association Partizan. Their best period was from 1958 to 1966. That generation of players was known as "Partizan Babies". In 1966, the club became the first Eastern European club to reach the Final of the European Cup.

2016-2017 League Champion

TeamGK: Milutin Soskic (Yugoslavia)He was a legend with FK Partzan. He was capped by Yugoslavia for 50 times between 1959 and 1966. He went to the 1960 European Championship and the WC finals in 1962.

Milutin Soskic

GK: Ivan Ćurković(Yugoslavia)He played
for AS Saint-Étienne
during the 1970s and early 1980s and was instrumental in the successful
runs of Saint-Étienne's football club to the top of the French League
and to the finals of the European Cup in the 1975–76 season. He was
capped 13 times for Yugoslavia.

GK: Fahrudin Omerović (Yugoslavia/Bosnia and Herzegovina)Omerović begin his career in FK Sloboda Tuzla. In summer of 1984, he was transferred to FK Partizan where he will become the main goalkeeper for the following 8 seasons. With Partizan he won two Yugoslav championships, two Yugoslav Cups, and one Supercup. After the dissolution of SFR Yugoslavia, he played for Kocaelispor for 4 years and İstanbulspor. Capped by beth Yugoslavia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

RB/LB: Fahrudin Jusufi (Yugoslavia)He was the greatest fullback in Yugoslavian football history. He played at the 1962 FIFA World Cup and at the 1960 Summer Olympics, where his team won the gold medal. He played for FK Partizan and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Fahrudin Jusufi

RB: Ivan Golac (Yugoslavia)Goals played for Partizan in Yugoslavia before he was allowed to play overseas at the age of 28. He became a star with Southampton and became the first foreigner to appear in a Final played in Wembley Stadium in 1979. He also played for AFC Bournemouth, Manchester City and Portsmouth. Capped once.CB: Branko Rašović (Yugoslavia)Rašović played five years in Partizan, from 1964 until 1969. The peak of his career was the 1966 European Cup Final in Brussels, when Partizan played in the final agains Real Madrid. In 1969, he moved to Borussia Dortmund. Capped 10 times.

CB: Velibor Vasovic(Yugoslavia)He
was a legend at FK Partizan. He lost the European Cup to Real Madrid
in 1966. A year later, he later joined Ajax and established himself as
one of the best defenders in Europe. In 1971, he captained Ajax as they
won their first European Cup. He is considered one of the greatest
Ajax defenders. He played 32 times for Yugoslavia.

Velibor Vasovic

DF: Blagoje Paunović (Yugoslavia)He started his youth career in FK Partizan. He spent most of his career with Partizan. As a player or coach, he was part of Partizan for almost half a century. At 28, in 1975, Paunović joined FC Utrecht in the Netherlands. He played for OFK Kikinda, Oakland Stompers of the North American Soccer League and FK Sinđelić; whilst in North America, he played under the name Paki Paunovich. Paunović played a total of 39 matches for Yugoslavia, and participating at the final stages in the Euro 1968.CB: Bruno Belin (Yugoslavia)He started his career at Zagreb based NK Metalac and in 1950 he joined Belgrade-based giants FK Partizan where he won one national championship and 3 cup titles. He made a total of 25 appearances for the Yugoslav national team between 1952 and 1959.CB: Nenad Stojković (Yugoslavia) During his 18-year professional career, Stojković played for Partizan, Monaco, Montpellier, Mulhouse, Nancy and Amiens, making over 500 league appearances. At international level, Stojković represented Yugoslavia at the 1982 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1984.LB: Milan Damjanović (Yugoslavia)He played for Partizan in Yugoslavia, and Angers and La Mans in France. On the national level he played for Yugoslavia national team (7 matches), and was a participant at Euro 1968.

LW/LB/CB: Branco Zebec (Yugoslavia)Zebec was one of the greatest players ever from Yugoslavia. In his heyday the player from FK Partizan and Red Star Belgrade fascinated the world with his performances at the World Cups in 1954 and 1958. With Partizan he won 3 Yugoslav Cups (1952, 1954, 1957). With Red Star Belgrade he won the national championship in 1960. He led Yugoslavia to
second-place at Euro 1960.DM/CM: Jovan Miladinović (Yugoslavia)During his club career he played for FK Partizan between 1956 and 1966 and 1. FC Nuremberg between 1966 and 1967. He earned 17 caps for the Yugoslavia national football team, and participated in the 1960 European Nations' Cup.CB/DM: Miodrag Jovanović (Yugoslavia)He played for UDS-OS, Red Stars Belgrade and OFK Beograd before joining Partizan in 1946. Capped 25 times. He participated in the 1948 Olympic Games in London and at the World Cup in Brazil in 1950.CM: Radoslav Bečejac (Yugoslavia)During his playing days and even now, he was affectionately known as Zaza. Best known for being member of the FK Partizan team that played the 1966 European Cup Final vs Real Madrid. Bečejac is also known for the record transfer in the summer 1967 when Olimpija bought him from Partizan for YUD65 million. Capped 13 times.

CM: Zlatko Čajkovski(Yugoslavia)He
was considered one of the best Yugoslavian players ever. He played for
FK Partizan before moving to play for Koln in Germany. He also
participated in the FIFA World Cups of 1950 and 1954.

CM: Zvezdan Čebinac (Yugoslavia)Čebinac began his football career in 1954 in the youth team of Partizan, making his senior debut 4 years later. He also played for Red Star Belgrade, and in the Netherlands, with PSV Eindhoven (1966-67), and in West Germany with Nurnberg and Hanover 96.LW/FW: Josip Pirmajer (Yugoslavia)Born in modern day Slovenia, he played for Elan Srbobran and RFK Novi Sad. During the winter-break of the 1963–64 season, he was brought by FK Partizan, reaching the 1966 European Cup Final. During his spell in Partizan he got the record of having played 252 consecutive competitive matches. He also played with FK Vojvodina and abroad, in France, with Nîmes Olympique. Capped 4 times.AM: Momčilo Vukotić (Yugoslavia)He began his professional career with FK Partizan in 1968. He also played for the Yugoslav national team and participated in the European Championship in 1976, which was hosted in his country, where Yugoslavia finished fourth. In 1978, he transferred to the French side FC Bordeaux. The following year, he returned to Partizan.

FW: Stjepan Bobek (Yugoslavia)He
played for Partizan between 1945 and 1959 helping them win two Yugoslav
First League titles and four Yugoslav Cups, and was named the club's
greatest player in history in 1995. Internationally, he is the all-time
top scorer for Yugoslavia,
scoring 38 goals in 63 appearances between 1946 and 1956, and was
member of Yugoslav squads which won two Olympic silver medals (in 1948
and 1952) and played in two World Cups (in 1950 and 1954).

Stjepan Bobek

ST: Vladica Kovačević (Yugoslavia)Kovačević had a successful playing career with FK Partizan, and in France with FC Nantes and Angers SCO. With Partizan, he was the European Cup Top Goal Scorer during the 1963–64 season with 7 goals, alongside Sandro Mazzola of Inter, and Ferenc Puskás of Real Madrid, and he reached the 1966 European Cup Final with the club. At International level, he played at theWorld Cup 1962 for Yugoslavia, finishing the tournament in fourth place.

ST/SS: Miloš Milutinović (Yugoslavia)He was one of the Milutinović brothers who were famous players and coaches in Yugoslavia. He
earned 33 caps in total and represented the country in the 1954 and
1958 World Cups. During his club career he played for FK Bor, FK
Partizan, OFK Beograd, FC Bayern Munich, RCF Paris, and Stade Français
Paris.

ST/SS: Milan Galic (Yugoslavia)He scored 37 international goals in 51 matches for the Yugoslavia.He
participated in the 1960 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal, the
1960 UEFA European Football Championship, where Yugoslavia finished
second and the 1962 FIFA World Cup, where Yugoslavia finished fourth. On
the club level, he played for FK Partizan and Standard Liège.

Milan Galic

ST:Mustafa Hasanagić(Yugoslavia) Born in Priboj, Hasanagić started playing football at FAP, before moving to Partizan in 1961. He was a member of the team that played in the 1966 European Cup Final against Real Madrid. In later years, Hasanagić played with Servette and La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland. Hasanagić also made five appearances for the Yugoslav national team between 1965 and 1967.ST: Predrag Mijatović (Yugoslavia/Montenegro)He
is best remembered for scoring the winning goal against Juventus as
Real Madrid won the 1998 Champions' league, its first title since 1966.
He
played 73 times for Yugoslavia. In 1997, Mijatović was runner-up for
the Ballon d'Or, behind Ronaldo and ahead of Zinedine Zidane.